Solar plane leaves Texas for St. Louis

Pilots Andre Borschberg, co-founder and CEO, and Dr. Bertrand Piccard, chairman, talk with reporters as the Solar Impulse sits in a specially made hangar tent at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Thursday May 23, 2013. The solar plane landed early Thursday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after taking off Wednesday from Phoenix. The plane, with a wingspan of 208 feet (as long as a Boeing 747), will be on display Friday and Saturday. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Rodger Mallison)

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — A solar-powered plane that spent more than a week in North Texas has departed on the third leg of its cross-country trip.

The Solar Impulse took off early Monday from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport bound for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

It’s the first attempt by a solar plane capable of being airborne day and night without fuel to fly across the U.S.

The plane left Northern California on May 3 and landed the following day in Phoenix. The Solar Impulse departed Phoenix on May 22 and landed a day later in Texas.

The plane flies about 40 mph. The Texas to St. Louis leg is about 560 miles.

The rest of the schedule includes Dulles International Airport near Washington and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.